Fairytale
by rinspin
Summary: AU. Loosely inspired by the song 童话 (more of the ideas of the song than what it is contextually about). Touko goes to the Togami household to work as a maid. Byakuya and Touko gradually warm up to each other, but class divides separate them. Relatively fluffy longfic in progress.
1. Chapter 1

"Where are we going, Mother?" Touko looked dubiously around the forest as the village faded further and further behind them.

"Opportunity," her mother replied. "You'll just have to trust me, dear."

The two of them had spent nearly a week traveling on foot. They had left the tiny peasant village Touko had grown up in and made their way to the larger village. Touko had thought that that had been their destination all along. However, that didn't quite explain why Touko had to bring all of her belongings, but her mother only brought a few weeks' worth of supplies. As a result, Touko was only partially surprised when the pair left the village after spending a night.

"Mother," Touko complained after awhile, "I'm hungry."

Her mother laughed. "Aren't you used to it? No matter." She passed Touko a small piece of bread and added, "You won't have to worry about that, I think, once we get to our destination." She looked at her map. "And we're almost there!"

Several hours later, a huge building like Touko had never seen before appeared before her. The four-story building, with its elegant, walls of pale-grey stone and tall windows with golden frames, seemed like a castle. A black gate at least twice Touko's height closed off the mansion and the surrounding garden, and she looked up at it nervously as she got closer.

"This is our destination?" Touko asked. Her small bag of clothing felt heavy as she gazed at the expansive estate. The sun reflected off the building and hurt her eyes.

Her mother silently pulled a string by the gate and a bell rang out through the garden. "Yes," her mother replied.

Touko looked at her mother. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm excited that we're finally here, but I'm a little nervous, too."

Touko felt frustrated that after all this time, she _still_ didn't know what this was all about. "Well, now that we're here, could you please tell me what we're here for?"

Her mother started to respond but stopped as a lanky man in a neat suit approached the gate from the other side. "Are you Mrs. Fukawa?" He spoke with a cultured accent that Touko would later learn all the upper-class people spoke with.

"Yes, I am," her mother responded. "And this is Touko, my daughter."

"Excellent," the man responded. "I'll have the gate opened momentarily, and then I'd appreciate it if you two would follow me."

He left to unlock the gate, and Touko swiftly turned to her mother. "What's going on? Tell me, now," she demanded.

Her mother looked just above Touko's shoulder, not making eye contact. "The debt at home was getting to be too much," she began to explain. "You know, of course, that we haven't been making enough to, um, support the both of us. I need to stay at home to fulfill the contract… But I found a way for you to—"

Before she could finish, the sound of the gate creaking open interrupted her. The man returned, nodded to them, and proceeded towards the mansion's front door. Touko's mother didn't want to have a long conversation in front of the stranger but whispered to her daughter, "Opportunity."

Touko looked up at her mother in concern. Fear and anxiety were beginning to settle into a pit in her stomach in addition to the previous confusion. There must have been a reason that she hadn't been told the reason for the trip. She fiddled with her two long braids as they entered the majestic foyer.

The room was stunningly large. A marble spiral staircase led up to another floor. A crystal chandelier illuminated the room, which was adorned with not much except for a few bookshelves. Touko didn't have much time to examine the room before being led into an adjacent parlor.

She and her mother were seated on a plush red sofa. Looking at the grand piano in the corner, the stone fireplace, and the flower vase on the coffee table before them, Touko felt incredibly out of place in her shabby dress.

"I'll let my lord know of your arrival," the man said, leaving the room.

It was only a moment before Touko urged her mother to continue. Her mother said, "If everything goes according to plan, you can get a job here. I don't know what it will be, but I think it will be better than whatever I can offer you. I hope that maybe you can, um, _live_ here, instead of spending your life supporting your mother."

Touko gaped blankly at her mother. "You mean you're leaving me here?" _This can't be happening_, she thought, growing frantic.

"It's for the best, honey, I promise. There are things you can get here that I could never offer you."

"But I can't just leave you! I don't care. I don't want to be separated from you. I'd rather support you than support whoever lives here. I don't care about being hungry, or anything like that."

Touko could have rambled on even more, but she was silenced by the look on her mother's face. She turned around to see a different man walk into the room. He was regally dressed and carried an obvious air of superiority.

He took one look at the two on the sofa and said, "I can't hire both of you. I only have one opening."

"Oh, that's fine, Mr. Togami," Mrs. Fukawa replied quickly. "I don't want a position. It's only my daughter."

"Hmph." Mr. Togami regarded Touko critically. "She's barely past childhood."

"Yes," Touko's mother confirmed, "but she's very capable. She helps me around the home all the time. And she's very intelligent, too. Perhaps she could serve as a tutor for—"

"My son would never need tutoring from a commoner."

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to imply…"

"I'm sure you didn't." A heavy silence floated in the room as Mr. Togami seemed to consider his options. "I'll hire her as a basic maid. Cleaning, running errands as necessary, etcetera." He turned to face Touko. "Will you take the position?"

Touko's mother elbowed her gently. Touko desperately didn't want to accept, but she thought about what her mother would say…She really didn't have a choice. "I will," she said.

"Fine. We'll begin orientation immediately. I'll call your new manager." He turned to Touko's mother. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises shortly. Kawaguchi will escort you out."

Mr. Togami left the room to summon the people he mentioned. Touko's mother faced her daughter. "I guess this is goodbye for now," she said.

Touko didn't have anything to say that expressed her feelings. She thought up so many phrases of anger, frustration, sorrow, loss, but none of them seemed appropriate to articulate. "I love you," she choked out.

"I love you, too." After saying this, Kawaguchi, the man who had escorted them in, came to escort Touko's mother out. They embraced tightly, Kawaguchi looking on understandingly, before the two of them left Touko alone in the parlor.

She wasn't alone for long, however. Very soon after, a short woman dressed in a plain, brown dress bustled into the room.

"You must be the new girl, right? What's your name?"

"Ah…My name is Touko Fukawa."

"Okay! I'm Mariko Miyaki, but you can refer to me as Mari. We're going to start off with a tour. It can be kind of overwhelming at first, so try to pay attention! The Togamis don't really account for the fact that it can take some people time to get adjusted to the layout of the house, but the rest of the workers here will help you out if you ask."

Mari talked enough for the both of them. Touko barely needed to say anything as she went from room to room. Her memory was decent enough, but she could definitely visualize herself getting lost often in the next few weeks. She would probably get lost partly due to not having perfect memory, but also partly to the fact that she wasn't completely paying attention. Throughout the tour, accompanied by Mari's amiable babbling, Touko imagined her mother making the weeklong journey home all by herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Finish up in the parlor. Then, go to the study. Then, go to the music room. Then, go to the sunroom. Then, go through bedroom after bedroom after bedroom. After a few days of working as a maid, Touko started to break her daily responsibilities into smaller routines. Take dusting, for example. She simply had to make her way through each of the living rooms, duster in hand, and dust everything in every living room. If she took the most efficient route from room to room, she could occasionally have some time to herself at the end.

On this day in particular, Touko was anxious to complete her dusting regimen as quickly as possible. She was determined to do a good job and then ask Mr. Togami for materials to use to write to her mother. Once she overcame the initial despair of separation, Touko realized that she could still keep in touch. She planned to dust the study last since Mr. Togami was usually there at this time in the afternoon. At the thought of requesting something so simple, her throat constricted. Up to this point, Touko had done her best to avoid the Togamis.

Mari had told her, "It's actually a pretty good deal, working here. The pay is good, conditions are good, and the benefits are all right. The only, ah, kink is that the Togami family…well, let's just say they tend to not treat their workers very fondly."

Touko's face must have turned several shades paler, because Mari had then added, "Not to say it's anything violent, no! It's just, oh, cutting remarks, things like that. It gets you down, you know? Nah, it's a lot easier just to do what you need to do work-wise, and then relax in the servants' quarters. That's my advice, at least."

Touko had taken that advice to heart. This meant that she had actually only met Mr. Togami; she hadn't even seen his wife or son.

Initially, she had asked Mari for the materials, but Mari had told Touko sadly that she had no one to write to. Touko didn't feel comfortable asking the other servants for favors; she certainly didn't have any way to pay them yet. This all left asking Mr. Togami directly as the only option.

Letting the certainty of her lack of options fuel her resolve, Touko pushed the door to the study open. She usually went here first, but she came here last today. As expected, Mr. Togami sat at his desk. Several books from the shelves formed neat piles on the hardwood desktop, and one lay open in the center.

He looked up at her, a spark of irritation in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to dust the bookcases," Touko said quietly, raising her duster.

"I've never seen you here to 'dust the bookcases' before," Mr. Togami replied, mocking Touko's timid voice.

"I, uh, dusted the rooms in a different order today."

"Hmph. You must be fairly stupid, going out of order in such a way that you wind up disturbing me. I'm working."

"I-I'm really sorry!" Touko felt that the chances of attaining the writing materials were slim to none. She opened the door as quickly as she could, acutely aware of its weight.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't want to disturb you, so I thought I'd come back later…"

"You're already here. Just do it now." The sound of his voice made it obvious that he would rather her disappear before his eyes.

Touko didn't have a choice. She approached the first, nearest bookcase and began shakily dusting the shelves. When she peeked over her shoulder, she found Mr. Togami's eyes boring into her. She squeaked softly and turned back around, dusting more quickly.

Mr. Togami eventually went back to work, and Touko did her best to ignore the scathing aura emanating from him. Instead, she tried to focus on the study.

It was one of her favorite rooms; she had never seen so many books in one place before arriving. Based on her first impression, most of the books in the study were probably stuffy, dull books. However, Touko guessed that there were probably some gems on the shelves, gripping tales of emotion and romance. Well, Touko thought, maybe there were no romance novels in Mr. Togami's study, but there might still be amazing fiction.

Touko daydreamed about books while books sat right in front of her. She couldn't very well reach out and grab one; she couldn't guess how much trouble she would get into. Yet, Touko eyed a gorgeous, thick volume. The spine was a deep red, and the book looked like it was bound with something as soft as silk. She slowly reached out her other, free hand and traced a finger down the spine.

"What do you think you're doing?" Touko spun around to see a surprisingly angry Mr. Togami standing beside his desk. The light reflected off of his glasses so that Touko couldn't see the eyes beneath and was left to determine his emotion from the snarl on his face.

"I, ah, I was just—"

"Keep your hands away from the books. There are things in there that people like you are not meant to see." He ran a hand exasperatedly through his blond hair. "I don't need you distracting me anymore. Finish quickly and get out."

Touko had all but forgotten about her ulterior motive of the day, and pen and paper were the least of her concerns as she sped along the shelves. When not letting herself get distracted, Touko breezed through the study in less than fifteen minutes. Before she left, she considered saying goodbye or apologizing, but in the end decided against it.

She wrenched open the door, which was just as heavy as before. Yet, it opened with slightly more ease than before. As the door jerked open, Touko realized, to her horror, the reason why opening the door had felt different. She realized as soon as the person who had been pushing the door open from the other side stumbled and nearly collided with her.

_Oh no_, she thought desperately as she heard the stranger, definitely male, gasp slightly at the shock of the door opening quicker than he expected.

Touko looked up quickly. She registered familiar glasses, blond hair, and crisp suit. She turned around to register that Mr. Togami still sat at his desk and then sprinted out of the room.

She didn't stop running until she reached the safety of the servants' quarters. _Oh god,_ she thought, _I've really done it now_. There was no doubt in Touko's mind that she had just tripped up Mr. Togami's son and heir, and Touko figured if the son resembled his father, he would be furious.

Touko trudged to her bedroom as she pondered what she would do if she got fired. She quite frankly didn't trust herself to find her way home, and she didn't trust other people and the world at large to allow her to get there alone safely. She had to keep this job, and if she couldn't, she needed a way out.

Touko sat on her bed and tugged at her braids with increasing anxiety. The only option she could think of was getting someone to escort her home. However, she had no money. Her mother would help her, but Touko had no way of contacting her.

Touko realized that the pen and the paper were an overwhelming necessity. Besides, if she was going to get fired, she figured she might as well face it sooner rather than later. It was inevitable, she thought. She had screwed up and had to face up to it.

_I have to face up to it_, she told herself as she made her way back to the study. _I have to. I have to_. She repeated the mantra to herself. Yet, as she got closer to her destination, her footsteps slowed and faltered. _I really don't want to_.

Touko took a deep breath and pushed the door to the study open. Inside, Mr. Togami and the stranger, who was, now that Touko could get a longer look at him, definitely Mr. Togami's son, sat at the desk. They had clearly been in heated discussion: their faces were slightly red, and Touko had heard them quickly stop talking when she entered before they stopped glaring at each other and started glaring at her.

One Togami staring at Touko was intimidating enough, and two left her at a loss for words. _They are so mad at me_, she thought miserably.

"It's you again. What the hell do you want?" Mr. Togami demanded.

_Just say it already_. "I wanted a piece of paper and a pen, so I could write to my mother."

"You choose to bother us _now_ for something like _that_?"

"Well, I need to contact somebody, if you're going to fire me, I mean…"

"Fire you? What are you talking about?" Mr. Togami thundered. "You're not getting fired! But you will be if you keep wasting my time with this nonsense!"

"I'm sorry! I just thought…I had been mistaken that…" Touko felt like she needed to say _something_ to clarify herself, but she couldn't think of anything.

"Father." The younger Togami cut in, "Just give the maid what she said. It's nothing, replaceable, and it's worth it if it will get her out of our faces. We were in the middle of something, in case you forgot, and her inane blubbering is interrupting my thought process."

Touko gaped at the Togami heir, and Mr. Togami simply frowned at him. Uncaringly, the heir stood up from his seat and walked to the other side of the desk. He bluntly opened the drawer and snatched out a packet of paper along with a single pen and sealed inkwell. He strode towards Touko, stood in front of her, and dropped the items at her feet.

"Take them and get out of here," he said. "That should be enough for a while."

Touko immediately dropped to her knees and began picking up the pieces of paper that had separated from the packet. "Th-thank you," she said.

"Shut up," the heir said coldly. "Go away."

Touko shut up and went away.

Back in her room, Touko sat down at her small desk and flattened a piece of paper in front of her. She thought about what she would put in her letter. What could she say? She couldn't tell her mother, who had sacrificed so much to get her here, that she hated working here and would rather be back at home. Yet, she also couldn't tell incomplete truths about her daily life, or worse, fluffy lies. Nothing sounded right in her head.

Instead, a different idea began blossoming in Touko's mind. Here, she felt isolated and alone. However, she had felt a bit of happiness and hope when she was among the books in the study. She smiled, at least a little, when she thought of dramatic love stories where the main leads always manage to pull together in the end. Touko thought she could try to create her own happiness or at least alleviate her current unhappiness slightly.

Her mind already racing with ideas, the packet of papers posing a blank canvas before her, Touko dipped her pen in the inkwell.


	3. Chapter 3

_ …The prince leaned in closer. Hanako's breath caught in her throat as she began to tremble nervously._

_ "Don't worry," the prince said, gazing earnestly into Hanako's eyes. "I don't care if you're poor, I don't care where you came from, I don't care about any of that. Please, come with me, and I will do my best to make all of your dreams come true."_

_ Hanako felt tears pricking her eyes. "I—_

"Touko, sweetie, are you in there?"

"Y-yes." Touko hastily put down her pen and went to answer the door.

Mari looked at her with concern. "I always know where to find you," she began, "because you always spend all of your time in your room! What are you always doing in there? The other servants don't bite, you know."

"I know," Touko said. "I just, um…I have a lot on my mind."

Mari didn't look convinced. "Anyway, there's a very important meeting about to start for all employees," she recited. "Everyone should immediately make his or her way to the servant quarters' common room."

Touko nodded and left her room while Mari went to knock on the next person's door.

Already, a small crowd of people had formed in the common room. Some people had opted to grab seats on the various couches and stools, but Touko went to stand near the wall. More people came and began to mingle. Some greeted Touko warmly, and she nodded and averted her eyes in response.

Soon, the meeting began. Mr. Kawaguchi, who was apparently not only the person to greet visitors but also an overseer for the servants of the household, stood up and went to the front of the crowd. After a minute, the chatter faded to a silence.

"Good afternoon, everyone," he began. "You have all been called here for a very important reason. Mr. and Mrs. Togami and their son Byakuya will, in a few days, embark on a long journey. The purpose of this trip is highly confidential. However, they will be taking a certain portion of the employees along with them to serve as personal staff."

Touko bit her lip nervously.

"The duties of these positions will be greatly varied," Mr. Kawaguchi continued, "and will basically consist of assisting the Togamis as necessary. There will be general staff alongside a few members dedicated to assisting individual members of the family."

He paused, and the silence was filled by the anxious conversations between servants. Some said they wanted a chance to leave the mansion and go on a grand journey. Some were apprehensive as to what this journey entailed. Others balked at the thought of having to personally wait on the Togamis for an unspecified period of time.

Touko decided she definitely fell into that final category.

Mr. Kawaguchi cleared his throat. "What is more important than the details, however, is that the people who will go on the trip have already been selected." He removed from his pocket a piece of paper with a list of names on it. "I will now read aloud the names of the people chosen. Please listen carefully."

First, Mr. Kawaguchi announced those who would function as general staff members. A group of about ten was listed, but Touko was not included.

Then, he announced the five who would personally assist Mr. Togami. Luckily, Touko was not included. However, she was not surprised that Mr. Togami did not choose her after the earlier incident.

Mr. Kawaguchi then announced the five who would personally assist Mrs. Togami. Touko's name was not on the list.

"Lastly," Mr. Kawaguchi concluded, "those who will work for Byakuya Togami during the trip. Byakuya only asked for two. Mr. Ryushi Yoshida and Ms. Touko Fukawa."

_Byakuya chose me?_ Touko thought, _that can't be right. _She remembered their last and only encounter and bit her lip. _I don't—_

Touko stopped and paid attention to what Mr. Kawaguchi was saying. "Those mentioned will depart the day after tomorrow. Until then, you are exempt from your ordinary duties and are expected to prepare for the trip. Other employees will have to do extra work during their absence to maintain the household. Tomorrow, those chosen will meet with the Togamis, who will go over your responsibilities on the trip. Do your best to make everything go smoothly!"

With these words of motivation that left Touko distinctly unmotivated, Mr. Kawaguchi dismissed those who would embark on the trip. Those who would be left behind stayed to go over new duties.

The rest of that day passed by in a blur for Touko. Mari helped her acquire a bag for her belongings and helped her figure out what she would need. Touko did not have very much to begin with, so most of her belongings went into her small bag.

When Touko asked Mari about how she could continue her writing while traveling, Mari replied with, "Ah, so _that's_ what you've been doing in your room all the time," before disappearing for a bit. When she came back, she brought a large, cleaned off cutting board she had snatched from the kitchen, providing Touko with a hard surface to write on. She also brought some extra paper and other materials from the other servants, commenting, "If you wanted them, you should have just asked somebody."

At the end of the day, Touko embarrassedly thanked Mari for all of her help. Touko could barely sleep that night due to fear and stress. She had finally adjusted to life in the Togami household only to be forced to leave. She thought hopefully that maybe it had been a mistake, and when she went for her meeting tomorrow everything would be sorted out. This consoling thought allowed her to finally get at least a few hours' worth of rest.

The next day after breakfast, Mr. Kawaguchi found Touko in her room and told her to go to the parlor immediately. Touko hurried anxiously to find a man who looked to be in his late twenties in the room already. He was strongly built and had focused, dark brown eyes.

The dark haired man raised an eyebrow. "Are you Touko Fukawa?" When Touko nodded, he said, "I'm Ryushi Yoshida. Nice to meet you."

After shaking hands, Ryushi said, "So, do you know why you were selected? If you don't mind me saying, you seem rather young and not built well for a long journey."

"I-I'm not sure," Touko replied. "I think it was a mistake." Ryushi nodded understandingly, and Touko was about to continue with another comment before Byakuya strode into the room.

Byakuya looked at Touko critically. "It wasn't a mistake."

A small, terrified whimper escaped Touko's lips.

Adjusting his glasses, Byakuya stood in front of Ryushi and Touko and said, "I don't like having a lot of people around. I selected you two because I hoped that combined, you two would be the most fit to accompany me. Do not prove me wrong."

"Obviously, you two are very different, and so you will have different responsibilities." Byakuya turned to face Ryushi. "Yoshida, you will serve as a bodyguard, tend the horses, and, if and when we stop in towns, acquire any supplies as needed. I'll supply the funds of course, but it will be you who goes and makes the purchases. I also may add any duties as I deem necessary."

"I understand," Ryushi said.

Byakuya turned to face Touko, who bit her lip and stared at the ground. "Fukawa, you will be responsible for any errands within the traveling group. This may entail serving as a messenger, fetching supplies, cleaning, organizing, and anything else I think is necessary for you to do."

Touko took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

"Do you understand, Fukawa?"

"Mhmm."

"Look at me," Byakuya said harshly, and Touko looked up at him. "Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes," she said. "Yes, I do."

"Good," Byakuya said coldly. To both servants, he said, "We leave tomorrow morning at sunrise. Be ready before that. Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir," Ryushi said.

"I—um…" Touko said.

"Very well," Byakuya responded. "Yoshida, you may go. Fukawa, stay."

"Thank you," Ryushi said, then got up and left the room.

Touko fidgeted with her hands. Byakuya stared at her intently.

"Well?" he asked.

"Wh-what?"

"What's your question?"

"I n-never said I had a question…"

"It was obvious you do. Spit it out."

Touko looked up at Byakuya nervously. "Why did you choose me?"

Byakuya frowned. "_That's_ your question?" He smirked and laughed slightly, but it was more like an amused breath forcing itself out. "I picked you because I thought you would be suitable for the job. Why else?"

"B-but…you barely know me; the only time we even met was when—"

"The only time we met gave me information enough," Byakuya said. "You seem to have, competence or lack thereof aside, the right attitude for the task."

_D-did I just get insulted or complimented…?_

"Stop staring at me."

"S-sorry…"

"Any other questions?" In response, Touko shook her head. "Good. This meeting is over. Goodbye." Byakuya strode out of the room without another word.

Touko had stopped staring at him when he told her to, but she followed him with her eyes out of the room before getting up and leaving the parlor herself.

The next morning, Touko was awake long before necessary. Everybody gathered outside the house. Everyone made final preparations in their respective groups. Byakuya mounted his horse, Ryushi picked up the bags of supplies, and Touko, with nothing extra to carry, fingered the straps of her bag nervously. Mari, who had woken up early, waved goodbye cheerfully to Touko and all the others as they made their way off the Togami estate.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hey! I just wanted to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, adding as a favorite, or following, or some combination of those! It always means a lot to me and motivates me to get the next chapter up. I hope you like this chapter! Things are going to start moving forward, ahaha. Enjoy! -Kate

* * *

"Fukawa."

Touko looked up from where she sat in the corner of Byakuya's tent. She didn't sleep in his tent, definitely not, but when the group wasn't moving, Touko had to stay near Byakuya in case she was needed. Byakuya, on the other hand, sat at a makeshift desk in the center of the tent with a book in hand.

"Get me something to eat." He spoke to her without looking up from his book.

Glad to have something to do, Touko hurried from the tent and to the supply stores. When not running errands, Touko had nothing to do but stare at the ground. She couldn't stare at Byakuya or what he was doing unless she wanted to get scolded, and she couldn't let Byakuya see her write her stories. So, yesterday Touko had spent the half of her first day on the road walking down dirt paths and the second half sitting idly, and she spent her night staying up late with her pen and paper. The second day appeared to be taking a similar route to the first.

Touko approached the bags of food when she heard conversation. In the summer heat, she began to sweat nervously.

"So, what do you think this is all for, anyway?"

Touko scampered and hid behind one of the nearby tents as two servants strolled by.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Take a guess."

"Well, whatever it is, it has to be really important. Otherwise the son wouldn't have come along."

"Yes, I suppose." The voice laughed. "Byakuya Togami in the real world, that's a good one."

Still laughing, the voices faded away. Touko poked her head out to make sure the coast was clear, grabbed an apple from the food supplies, and retreated to Byakuya's tent.

Touko had trouble explaining to herself her compulsion to avoid the other servants. The others all got along so well, and she didn't fit in. They all seemed to know what they were doing, and they all seemed to be confident, happy people in spite of their low class. Touko knew she wasn't as good as them. She didn't deserve their company.

She definitely didn't deserve Byakuya's company, but she didn't have a choice. Touko entered the tent and presented him with the apple.

"I tried to pick a good one," she said.

"Thank you for trying," Byakuya said sarcastically. He bit into the apple and returned his focus to the book in his hands.

Touko shifted her weight from one foot to the other and played with the ends of her braids. "Is there anything else…?"

"No. There's not."

Touko leaned on the pole that held up her corner of the tent. Normally she would lose her thoughts with what romantic scenes would fill the pages of her latest stories, but today she couldn't bring herself to focus on it. She had writer's block, and severely. She fidgeted and glanced over at Byakuya, who was lost in a book as usual. His brow furrowed intently as his blue eyes flicked across the page. A few stray strands of hair fell in front of his eyes, but he ignored them.

Suddenly, Touko noticed Byakuya's face turn a few shades paler. She thought to say something, but, she thought, perhaps it was just something he read. She definitely didn't want to interrupt him, so she remained silent and averted her eyes.

Touko heard a thump that indicated Byakuya had closed the book and set it on his desk. She looked over and noticed he had his head in his hands and was blankly staring at the surface of the desk.

She got up and stepped towards him. "U-um…Byakuya, sir…Are you okay?" Now that she was closer, she saw his hands shook slightly.

"Yes," Byakuya said, but his voice wavered as he said, "I'm fine. I'm going out to get some air." He got up and took two steps towards the entrance of the tent.

Byakuya wobbled, and then fell backwards onto the ground.

Touko let out a small scream and ran to him. "Oh my god. Byakuya!" She shook his shoulder but got no response. "Oh no…Oh no…"

She ran out of the tent and shouted, "Help! Help!" Quickly, several people ran over, and she said quickly, "Byakuya Togami fainted, or something, I don't know why, but he's unconscious, I…I don't know anything, someone needs to go in there and help…!"

With incredible swiftness, two doctors entered the tent, an assistant with some equipment trailing behind. Touko peeked inside as they laid him on a cot and began examining him. Within a few minutes, Touko saw Byakuya come to, to her relief. He appeared slightly bewildered and extremely irritated, but answered the doctors' questions. Soon, surprisingly soon, the doctors exited the tent.

Touko asked one of them, "What happened? Is he going to be okay?"

The doctor smiled tightly. "Of course he's going to be okay. Heat syncope," he explained. When Touko prompted him for more information, he said, "I can't just explain to every person on the trip."

"I have a reason to know," Touko insisted. "I'm waiting on him personally. It's important, I think."

The doctor looked at her skeptically, but elaborated: "Dizziness induced by overexposure to heat. He's not used to being out in these kinds of temperatures. To be honest, the suits he wears all the time probably don't help. After sitting still for a long time, he stood up and began moving around too quickly, which brought on the dizziness. He'll be fine, but should take it easy, drink a lot, and stay out of the heat. He's probably going to be disoriented for a couple hours."

"I understand," Fukawa said, then rushed into the tent.

Byakuya lay on the cot and stared at the ceiling. He groaned loudly and rolled over to face the wall. "Go away." His words slurred slightly.

Touko faltered, but then approached him, saying, "But it's my job to take care of you if you aren't feeling well."

Byakuya grunted something that Touko couldn't understand and then turned to face her. "I need to rest."

Touko was tempted to leave and take the rest of the day off. After all, Byakuya did tell her to get out. She could write her heart out for the day and then go to bed at a reasonable time. However, her writer's block was as present as ever, and she felt inclined to help the rather pitiful-looking Byakuya who was angrily gazing at the air in front of him, rubbing one of his temples slightly.

Touko took a deep breath. "The doctor told me that you need to stay hydrated. I'm going to go get some water, okay? Just…don't move around too much."

As she left the tent, Touko heard Byakuya call quietly, "Don't tell me what to do."

When Touko came back with a cup and a small barrel of cooled water, she saw Byakuya leaning on one of the poles supporting the tent.

"Wh-why are you up?"

"I have work to do, so I was on my way to my desk…"

"Byakuya, sir, could you _please_ not exert yourself? You're clearly not in a position to be working."

"You wouldn't be in a position to work if this happened to you," Byakuya spoke his retort slowly, but Touko remained quiet as he talked. "But for me…I can overcome this."

"I know you can." Touko decided she would try to say whatever she could to get Byakuya to be reasonable. "But please, just at least for a little while, lie down and drink some water."

Byakuya looked at her tiredly before turning and practically collapsing back onto the cot. He accepted the water she offered him and drank greedily. He demanded three more cups, all of which he drained, before being sated.

Byakuya closed his eyes and said, "Thank you."

Touko, who had been moving the cup and water to the side of the tent, paused. "You don't have to say thank you to me."

After a long silence, Byakuya said quietly, "Of course I know that."

Touko bit her lip and then smiled at the same time. Byakuya appeared to be falling asleep, and Touko decided to stay in the tent for a while, just in case. She sat down so that she was facing Byakuya's cot and realized that her writer's block was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thank you to everyone who has said nice things to me in a review or on tumblr! This story got a lot more attention than I thought it was going to, and you guys are all awesome! I have my final exam in a few days, but I took time out of studying to write this just for you guys. I hope you all like it! Urgh, writing from Byakuya's perspective is a lot harder than writing from Touko's perspective, so I hope it came out okay. It was necessary, but for most of the chapters we'll stick with Touko! Anyways, enjoy! -Kate

* * *

"And you're sure everything is going fine, dear?"

"Yes, mother." Byakuya adjusted his glasses. "Just fine."

"If you say so. You know, I still don't understand what you were thinking." Mrs. Togami paused the conversation to instruct one of her maids to acquire a cocktail for her. "Only two to wait on you? I can barely imagine."

"Everything is going fine, don't worry."

"All right, all right. I just wanted to make sure," Mrs. Togami said, running a hand through her hair. "I can see I'm boring you, so you can go back to doing whatever it is you do all day. Make sure to get some sleep; we're going to try to cover a lot of distance tomorrow."

Byakuya nodded and left his mother's tent. It wasn't even talking with his mother that bored him; it was the whole trip altogether. He understood why it was important, and why he had to go, but that didn't mean he would enjoy it. Even on horseback, as opposed to on foot, it was a lot of traveling, and the conditions were insufferable compared to the comfort of his home.

He thought back to the incident that had occurred a few days ago. It was an embarrassing display of vulnerability, to say the least. His memory of the whole event was slightly foggy, but he remembered barely being able to walk on his own out of his own weakness.

As much as he hated to concede anything of the sort, he was grateful to Fukawa for helping him. It had irked him when he had told her to go away and she had done the opposite, but she ultimately had helped him feel a lot better. Now that he was rested and fully recovered, though, he would rather forget the whole incident.

Byakuya pushed back the flap to his tent and entered, proceeding to his desk. Fukawa looked up from her hair, which she had been absentmindedly playing with.

"Is everything okay?"

Byakuya hadn't told her where he was going, just that he had business to attend to. "Everything is fine. You don't need to worry yourself."

The two returned to their normal routine, Byakuya reading his history books and Fukawa sitting in the corner. However, compared to the start of the trip, Byakuya became increasingly aware of Fukawa's presence. He would _feel_ more than notice her bothering him. He would look up to tell her to stop only to realize that she was staring at the ground doing nothing. She would notice his attention on her and look at him nervously with large grey eyes and bite her lip, and then Byakuya would quickly go back to his reading. He cursed himself for being so easily distracted by nothing.

"Stop that," he finally said, snapping his book shut.

"Huh? Stop what?"

"You're being annoying."

"I-I'm sorry!" The girl held her head in her hands. "Why am I…?"

"Don't you have anything better to do than just sit there all day?" Byakuya snapped. "Honestly, do something besides sit there like a piece of furniture."

Fukawa bit her lip and looked at the ground. She scrunched her face up in thought as Byakuya glared at her. Just as he opened his mouth to snap at her to hurry up and respond, she appeared to come to a decision and darted out of the tent. In a few minutes, she returned with a plank of wood, some paper, and the pen and inkwell he had given her a few weeks ago.

"What are you going to do with that?" Byakuya asked as the girl began to settle herself into the corner and refused to make eye contact with him.

"Nothing, I just…" Fukawa trailed off and mumbled something Byakuya couldn't hear.  
Byakuya was about to press her on the matter but decided he had wasted enough time. He returned to his book and started reading again. Now the tent was filled not with silence broken by the occasional turn of a page but with the scratching of Fukawa's pen on paper. When Fukawa left for the night, she seemed to be in better spirits than usual.

_What is she writing? A diary? _Byakuya decided a diary wouldn't make sense, because someone wouldn't have a sudden mood change after writing about whatever had brought on the original mood. The curiosity began to grow until Byakuya realized she was distracting him again. However, he decided he had done enough work for the day, and instead of going back to work, Byakuya began to come up with a plan.

* * *

The next day the camp left with the sunrise and the group members walked, or rode, until dinnertime. Ryushi set up Byakuya's tent, and he entered it gratefully. He couldn't express how exhausted he was after a day of travel until he was inside the privacy of his tent. Fukawa soon joined him with her writing materials. After an hour, Byakuya decided to put his plan into action.

"Fukawa," he said. When she looked up, he continued, "Do me a favor and deliver this to my father." He handed her a small envelope. "Do not read it. Just give it to him and tell him it's from me and that it's very important. A response is not required."

Byakuya smiled in satisfaction. He knew his father was probably having a meeting with a few of his advisers at this time, so the errand should take Fukawa a long time. She might get in a bit of trouble, but that didn't concern him. She would just say that he had told her to deliver it, and his father would scold him slightly before moving on. The note wasn't even that important, it was just a reminder that the two of them had an important meeting in a few days.

Fukawa put the envelope in her pocket and began putting her things into a small knapsack. Byakuya frowned in irritation.

"Go quickly!" He said harshly. "You're coming back her right afterwards, so you don't need to bring all of your belongings."

Fukawa jumped and apologized. She snatched something and it made a crackling sound, and then she rushed out of the tent. Byakuya looked outside to confirm that she had left, then went to solve the mystery.

_Damn it_. Byakuya realized that the thing Fukawa had taken and crinkled at the last minute was what she had been writing on. _She's really determined to keep this a secret. No matter. She can't hide it from Byakuya Togami for long._

* * *

Later that night, Byakuya decided to try again. When Fukawa had returned from the errand earlier that evening, Byakuya had tried to be direct. He asked her what she was writing, but she turned bright red and refused to answer. That settled it for Byakuya: he had to see what she was writing, at any cost. If it was something harmless, then nothing would come of it. If it was something…worthy of disapproval, then he needed to know about it.

For these reasons, he approached Fukawa's tent that night and called her name through the tent flap. He heard a startled exclamation and then rustling before Fukawa peeled back the flap of her tent. She looked at him blearily as she tried to discreetly adjust her nightgown.

"Fukawa. I need you to go to the medical tent and tell them I have a terrible headache. Ask them for some possible causes and bring some medication to my tent."

Fukawa nodded and slowly made her way through the campsite. It was an unacceptably slow pace for the errand, but since it was all a ruse to begin with, Byakuya didn't mind. In fact, it worked out better for him.

Byakuya pushed his glasses up and pushed his way into Fukawa's tent. It was relatively barren: a rumpled sleeping bag, a bag of clothing, and, in the corner, a pile of paper and a pen and an inkwell. _Perfect._

Byakuya confidently walked to the papers and picked the first bundle off to top of the pile. Elegant cursive handwriting streamed across every page. Byakuya couldn't help but be impressed by the penmanship.

He began to read. "Once upon a time, a young girl named Misaki worked in a small manor. Every day she woke up early, worked all day, and went to bed late. Life seemed hopeless and dreary until a mysterious visitor came to the manor for a visit."

Byakuya peered outside. The campsite appeared empty of people. Byakuya stood in the middle of his servant's tent and read her story all the way through.

"…Misaki looked behind her as the manor faded farther and farther away. She turned to face forward when she felt Hitoshi take her hand. Her smile reached her eyes as she and her prince rode off towards an future unknown to her, but one filled with hope."

Byakuya realized that because he was not in his tent, Fukawa would probably be looking for him. He carefully put the story back in its place, removed the smile that had been forming for the past half hour from his face, and left the tent, heading for his own.

Fukawa almost ran into him, jolting him from a distracted daze. As Fukawa skidded to a stop, Byakuya stuck his hand out to stop her from colliding with him, the tips of his fingers pressing lightly against her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Fukawa asked frantically. "You weren't in your tent, I've been looking for you, and I was so worried…"

"I was taking a walk to try to ease my headache," Byakuya interrupted her ramble. "Did you get the medicine?"

Fukawa handed Byakuya two pills and carefully explained what the doctors had told her. Byakuya paid attention to the way she made small motions with her hands as she talked and how she tilted her head and furrowed her brow as she tried to remember every specific detail. Eventually words stopped coming out of her mouth, and Byakuya realized she was looking at him for a response.

"Mhmm." Byakuya waited for Fukawa to finish speaking, and he put the pills in his pocket. "Thank you. I'll take them when I get back to my tent."

"Okay, good," Fukawa replied. She yawned and moved to pass him and return to her tent.

"Wait."

She stopped.

"Fukawa, I… What's your name?"

Fukawa looked taken aback. "I'm sorry? You just said my name…"

"Your first name, I mean."

Fukawa looked at him with wide, hesitant eyes. "My name is Touko, b-but I don't know why you'd need to know something like that…"

"I just wanted to know." _Touko. I'll remember the name._ "Goodnight, Touko."

Touko's face flushed. "Good night, Mr. Toga—"

"Byakuya."

Byakuya could see her shaking. Touko looked like she was about to speak, but then turned and ran to her tent instead. Byakuya retreated to his tent as well. Before going to bed, he discarded the pills and concluded he seemed to be permanently distracted by Touko Fukawa.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Hi, everyone! My final exams and all that are officially over, so hopefully I can bang out several more chapters before school starts up in September. This chapter was fun to write because hooray drama, but it was not fun to write because drama is really hard. Enjoy! -Kate

* * *

The day after Byakuya's strange nighttime headache, Touko felt as if Byakuya asked for her help oddly frequently. It was always "Touko, do this," or "Touko, go get that." The errands were often either unimportant or ones that he easily could have done himself. However, Touko would always do what he asked her to do, and then he would always smile slightly and say thank you to her.

"Touko," Byakuya said, in the same quiet and slow way he had spoken to her in all day.

"Yes?" Touko put down her pen and began gathering her papers, readying herself to head out on another errand.

There was a long pause. Byakuya frowned and seemed to stare at the air in front of Touko. He looked as if what he wanted to say was on the tip of his tongue. The frequency of this happening today disturbed Touko, but when she had asked if he was feeling okay, he had said he was fine.

With a frustrated sigh, Byakuya said, "Your hair is messed up. It's an eyesore. Fix it."

Touko lightly checked her hair and confirmed that several strands were falling out of their braids. "That's all…?" she said softly. When Byakuya flushed a little and glared at her, Touko said, "I'm sorry!" before tucking her hair back into place.

_My hair is an "eyesore…"_ Touko sat and thought pensively as she pretended to focus on her writing. _Does that mean he looks at me enough to be annoyed by my hair? _She glanced over and confirmed that at that moment, no, he was not looking at her. _I'm just being ridiculous…_

The day continued in a similar, awkward manner until it was time for Touko to return to her tent.

She got up to leave and headed to the exit, saying, "Goodnight."

"Wait," Byakuya said. When Touko stopped and turned around, he said, "Stay and talk for a little longer. We've spent nearly a week together; don't you think we're obligated to know each other at least a little more than strangers?"

"I'm working for you, though." Touko stared at the ground and fumbled for what to say. "I don't get the impression that you get to know all of your servants that well."

"I don't get to know every one of my servants on a first name basis, Touko," Byakuya said smoothly.

"What does that make me then?" Touko stammered nervously.

"That's an idiotic question. The answer is obvious. _Not_ every one of my servants."

"Listen, I'm really sorry," Touko said as she began to leave again, "but I, ah, I need to be getting to bed now, so—"

"Touko Fukawa."

She froze.

"Please, listen to me," Byakuya stood up as he spoke and went and grabbed Touko's shoulders (Touko remained frozen). "I admit that I don't know you very well, but I want to change that. I want you to not be just one of my servants. I want you to be more than that to me, and you've already begun to be more in my eyes. Touko, don't leave just yet; stay a while longer."

While Byakuya spoke, Touko's horror mounted higher and higher. She snapped out of her stupor when he asked her to stay. She shook her head slowly and said, "No, you can't be serious."

"I wouldn't be anything but serious about something like this."

"No!" Touko pushed Byakuya's hands off of her shoulders and backed away. "There's no way you would be serious about something like this." Byakuya stared, speechless, as Touko bit her lip. Touko felt like she was going to explode, but fear of getting in trouble forced her to restrain herself. She asked, "Why? Why would you try to do something like this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You have no reason to…to…_feel_ anything important towards someone like me!" Touko spoke quietly, but frantically and quickly so that Byakuya couldn't interrupt. "That means that you're lying, which means that this is all some…some kind of joke. Are you that bored? I'm sorry for doing a bad job, then, okay? I'm sorry you're bored, but…why this? Why this…?"

"Do you really think I would joke about this? What kind of lowlife do you take me for?"

Touko's mind raced. "Then…then…" The answer dawned on her suddenly. "Oh. Oh… Byakuya, please. I know that I'm pathetic, sitting here all alone every day, but you don't have to pity me like this."

"Urk!" Byakuya adjusted his glasses. "Fine. I-If that's what you think… Goodnight, Touko. I apologize for wasting your time." He turned away from her and stood in front of his desk, facing the back of the tent.

Touko didn't waste a moment; she hurried away and collapsed on her cot nearly in tears.

* * *

For a few minutes, Byakuya stood perfectly still in front of his desk, facing the back of his tent. "That's what she thinks," he said slowly, thinking hard. "In that case…" Byakuya finally moved, sitting at his desk and preparing pen and paper.

* * *

Touko cried. He had seemed so much nicer than her first impression of him. Touko's original fear of working for him had finally subsided, and she had begun to think she could enjoy the trip. It turned out she was wrong, and that her original fears were right. Was everything he had done up to this point just playing with her emotions? Was it all some plan to get her to fall in love with him, only to break her heart at the last minute?

Touko truly felt heartbroken, because, as much as she hated to admit it… The lead males in her stories had begun to resemble Byakuya more and more. The thought that it all could have been an act to manipulate her rendered all of her stories with characters based on him tainted.

Touko sat up and reached for her pile of stories. She flipped through them, reading them and admiring the way the relationship between the two leads smoothly unfolded. Touko knew things like that never happened in real life, but she could dream, and she could write. But many of her dreams felt ruined. The protagonist with sweeping blond hair and an arrogant personality seemed so much more artificial than before. The boy with blue eyes and glasses seemed more saccharine than sweet. None of them felt right anymore.

Touko had purposely tried to avoid heartbreak all her life on purpose.

She would burn them. She would destroy them all and start again, create new dreams. She would have to burn them in the campsite's central fire, so she decided to rip them up first. Nobody would be able to see what she had written as the pages burned.

Touko held up the first story in her hands, all the hard work ready to be destroyed, and she hesitated. It had been hours since she had arrived at her tent, and her tears had dried, but she still felt more sadness than anger. Feelings sad more than anything else, she hesitated.

In the moment where Touko solidified her resolve, she heard a distinctively quiet and slow voice outside her tent.

"Touko, are you in there?"

Once Touko dropped it, her story, intact, rustled as it fell quickly to the ground.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Behold, the apparently eagerly awaited chapter seven! I don't really have a lot to say about this one besides sorry for making you guys wait so long for it. I really struggled with...well, you'll see really quickly what I struggled with. Here's hoping it turned out okay! Enjoy! -Kate

EDIT: to the reviewer who asked about whether or not other DR characters would be in the story - to be honest I wasn't planning on it... but I can try to work some people in if you guys really want me to. I'll take requests for a few characters that I can try to work into the AU, but they would only play minor roles, since the plot itself is already relatively set.

* * *

Touko didn't know how else to answer the call outside her tent besides saying, "Yes. I'm here."

It was Byakuya, as Touko expected. He peeled back the flap of Touko's tent and ducked inside. His face looked sunken from exhaustion, and his form seemed to be wilting slightly. Touko realized how late it had gotten as Byakuya tiredly asked her, "May I come in?"

Touko stared at him, wide-eyed, and nodded. He took a few steps inside and then turned around to face Touko, who was still standing by the door.

She looked at him questioningly. _Why isn't he sleeping? Why did he come here? _Touko bit her lip and hoped that it was something trivial, even though she knew that was probably not the case.

Byakuya held out a folded piece of paper. "Read it." His voice was filled with as much firmness and authority that could be injected into a voice in the deep of night.

Touko unfolded the crisp parchment. The paper was flat and pristine except for the solid creases created by the folds. The writing itself was another matter: the script was plain and legible in many places, but in others words were crossed out with replacements in the margins, or the writing became slanted and rushed. Overall, the handwriting started professionally and degenerated into a frantic scrawl as the letter progressed. Touko felt that one could tell a lot about how the person writing the letter at the time felt based on the person's handwriting, and this case was no exception.

Before beginning to read, Touko looked up at Byakuya. He looked at her stoically with his arms crossed and his head held high. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did you write this?"

Byakuya tilted his head downwards and scoffed. "Are you serious? Of course I did. Why do you think I'm not sleeping?"

"You wrote it for me?"

"I'm not even going to bother to answer a question like that. You can find out for yourself just by reading whom the letter is addressed to."

Touko nodded quickly and bit her lip as she started to read.

* * *

_Dear Touko Fukawa,_

_ Although I stand in front of you, I put my words in writing. I ask you simply to read this letter in its entirety. The reason I say all of this by writing instead of speaking is while I can plan what I will say to you, I can't plan on what you may say to me or on how just seeing you may cause me to forget my plans. Therefore, I write this to you now, while my mind is not distracted by your presence. The only effect you currently have on me is motivating me to convince you of the sincerity of my emotion towards you. _

_ When I first fleetingly met you, I admit that you didn't leave a large impression on me. However, as I've spent each day with you, I've had the time to notice the inherent beauty within you, the beauty that you hide through timidity and diffidence. _

_ Additionally, I've seen and been endeared by the way you fidget with the fringes of your hair when you're nervous, the way you bite your lip when thinking intently, the way you sometimes trip over your words but always find the right thing to say in the end, and more and more aspects of what makes you yourself._

_ I admit that I don't know your self very well, but I want more than anything to learn. _

_More than anything, I admire your resilience and determination, qualities of yours that surpass any servant I've ever met. In the beginning, you may have faltered, but you endured through everything that I made you face only to return the next day with a "Good morning." Later, when I was ill, instead of leaving me to the doctors, you took it upon yourself to care for me, even when I tried to dismiss you. I'm grateful for the effort you put in as well to as what those efforts yielded. _

_ Although you act quiet and often fearful towards me, I can tell you are a caring person. You cared for me not out of responsibility, but because you wanted to. At the very least, that is the impression I received. _

_ It took me a long time to realize how I felt about you. I was more than hesitant to admit my feelings to myself, I concede. However, I know with a certainty now that I care for you more than I have ever cared for another before._

_ This is the truth. I assure you of that. As a member of the Togami family, I do not lie about matters of importance, and I've realized that you are important to me. As a member of the Togami family, I know what I want._

_ It's you, Touko._

_ I swear on the Togami name that I am not lying to you. Please, believe me. _

_Yours truly,_

_Byakuya Togami _

* * *

Touko looked up at Byakuya with tears in her eyes. Byakuya nodded curtly and looked away.

"Well? Say something," Byakuya said.

Touko did not take her eyes off of Byakuya's letter as she said softly, "It's a lot… I'm not sure what to say…"

"I know it's not perfect or anything—"

Touko looked up in shock at Byakuya's confession.

"But that's not what's important. I don't normally do…this kind of thing… normally. What matters is, do you believe me now?"

An icy fire burned in Byakuya's eyes. She looked down to see what appeared to be more of his heart than he had shown to another ever before. Some phrases in the letter came off to her as bordering on insulting, but Touko recognized the effort Byakuya had put into writing the letter.

Touko looked up again and thought she could see a glimpse of nervousness in the heir's usually arrogant frame, but a second later she swore she had imagined it. She looked back and forth between Byakuya and his letters before coming to a decision.

Touko realized with certainty what she next said aloud: "I believe you."

Byakuya smirked. "Finally," he said.

"But," Touko interjected. "What does it matter anyway? Nothing will come of it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're _you_, and you know exactly what I mean by that." Touko felt as if she was reading a script or a draft of one of her stories. _Next, the prince would say—_

"If anything, that's a reason for something to come of it. I'm Byakuya Togami. I can make it work."

_…Something like that._ "'It'…?"

"We can talk about everything tomorrow." Byakuya fixed his hair dismissively, satisfied that he had earned Touko's belief in his sincerity. "I'm going to bed."

"O-Okay. Goodnight, Byakuya," Touko said.

"Goodnight, Touko." He looked her in the face intently. "Keep the letter, but do _not _show it to anybody."

Touko smiled slightly. "I won't. You don't need to worry about it."

After Byakuya left, Touko said, "I never said I'd talk with you." It was, Touko had realized, very like Byakuya to assume that sort of thing. After a minute, she grinned and said, "But of course I'll talk with him…!"

Touko jumped happily a few times before leaping onto her bed and grabbing her stories. In her excitement, she didn't realize that they had been arranged more neatly than she had left them. She rapidly flipped through them while laughing to herself, and then threw them to the ground.

She looked at Byakuya's letter once more and read it over and over. No matter how many times she read it over, Touko still couldn't understand why Byakuya would feel this way about _her_ of all people, but she definitely wasn't complaining about it. She hugged the letter to her chest and imagined Byakuya hunched over his desk scrawling the words onto the paper, struggling in some places to find the perfect words. She imagined how sleepy he must have become after a while and his determination to work through it. It was _she_ that had driven him to stay up so late writing furiously.

Touko tucked the letter carefully in her bag and turned to look over her stories, now scattered around her bed. Each one was a carefully crafted story of lovers overcoming all sorts of odds. She had clung to them for support all this time, but she felt her once tight grip loosening on them slightly, her beloved stories.

"I love them all, but I don't _need_ them anymore," she whispered to herself. "I'm living my very own fairytale right now."


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Ta-da, chapter 8! I hope you all like it. By the way, in case you don't know... I love every single review I get, but in addition, if you ever want to talk to me or ask me any questions about my story (including when it will next update), you can send me an ask at my tumblr, .com. Whether it's a review, a follow, or an ask in my tumblr inbox, any contact from you guys makes my day! -Kate

* * *

The next morning, Touko finished packing up her belongings and was ready for another day of travel. It was time for her to find Byakuya and go to her place in the convoy per usual. It felt incredibly different to her, though, after last night. She couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. She carefully fixed her hair and smoothed her clothing out before setting off.

"Good morning, Byakuya."

"Good morning, Touko." Byakuya slowed the pace of his horse slightly to match her walking pace. "Did you sleep well?"

Touko had stayed up for most of the night, too excited to fall asleep. "Fine," she said.

To her surprise, Byakuya brought the horse to a halt and dismounted.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to walk with you. We have a lot to talk about," he said.

Touko swore his voice sounded slightly more warm than usual. Still, she sputtered, "But you really shouldn't do that! What will people say?"

Byakuya winced, an uncharacteristic response compared to what Touko had expected. "No one will say anything. If it proves an issue, I will say that the stench of the horse was too much to bear, and I felt like traveling on foot."

Touko stopped herself from objecting with the fact that Byakuya had the most well groomed horse in the entire group.

To the other waiting on him, Byakuya said, "I won't be riding for the beginning of today's traveling. Take care of the horse."

"What do you want me to do with it?"

"I don't care. Ride it, give it to someone else, just get rid of it for the time being."

The man led the horse away, and Byakuya turned to Touko and said, "There. Now, let's talk."  
"About what?"  
Byakuya spoke softly. "Well, now that our feelings for each other are in the open, I believe it's best to talk about anything and everything."  
"H-hold it," Touko said. "I never put my feelings for you in the open…"

"What was last night then?"

Touko nearly tripped on a crack in the road. "I only said that I believed what you said. I didn't say anything about my perspective."  
Byakuya paused for a long time and then said distantly, "Well, what is your perspective?"

"I…I don't know yet."

Honestly, Touko knew very well what her perspective was and that her perspective was, to put it one way, extremely positively oriented towards Byakuya Togami. However, while she would definitely have proclaimed so last night, in the striking reality of daytime, where their difference in status was much more explicit, she found it harder to be so bold.

Byakuya frowned but didn't press her for an answer. "Anyways…" He cleared his throat. "What do you do with your time when you're not working?"

"Not much."

A rehearsed response appeared to die on Byakuya's lips, and he changed the subject. "Where did you come from?"

"A tiny village a week's travel away from where you live. It's not very interesting."

"What's interesting about you, then? I mean, ah, that's not exactly what I meant. I meant—"

Touko interrupted, "There's not that much that's interesting about me. I mean, I think you're interesting enough to make up for the both of us."

"That must be wrong. I can tell you must have at least _one_ intelligent bone in your body, and you must have _something_ to show for it. Thoughts, art, writing…"

Touko could almost swear that she heard him put a particular emphasis on the word "writing," but the next second she could swear she'd imagined it. There was no way he could know about her secret; she had been so careful about it.

_Oh no_, she thought. _Is he getting bored of me? Is he regretting the letter? Does he think he was wrong for starting…this…?_ In the few seconds before she responded to him, Touko panicked. _I have to show him something… I have to make him like me. What's the best thing I have to show for myself?_

In retrospect she might call it an impulse, but Touko concluded that for Byakuya, she could reveal her secret. If he had opened his heart to her, this was the closest she could open her heart to him without completely risking stepping out of line.

"Actually," she finally responded, "I do write. In my spare time."

Byakuya smirked.

_Why is he smirking? He looks…victorious?_

"You write? What sort of things?"

"Just stories. Nothing academic or anything…"

"Are you an experienced writer?"

"I guess you could say that. At least, I've written a lot…" Touko reached into her knapsack and took out her bundle of stories, tightly packed together to minimize space.

Byakuya raised his eyebrows. "That is a lot. May I read one?"

"Of course!" Eager to impress him, Touko fingered through the pages to find what she thought was her best story and presented it to him.

Byakuya took the story delicately and began to read. He walked as he read, and a few minutes later, he stumbled on a stray branch. He cried out in surprise, but Touko quickly grabbed his arm as he stabilized himself.

No longer in danger of falling, Byakuya glanced sideways at where Touko's hand still sat on his arm. She saw and quickly drew it back.

"Sorry…" She crossed her arms and continued to walk. "It was reflexive."

"No, thank you," Byakuya said. "I would hate to risk a rip in my clothing," he added disdainfully. "But I do want to be able to read and walk at the same time. Would you prevent that from happening again?"

Byakuya extended his hand to Touko.

"I… You mean…?" Touko unsurely took his hand, and they continued to walk. She looked around nervously, but nobody seemed to pay the two of them any mind. She became more confident and slightly tightened her grip on Byakuya's hand. Every time some sort of debris threatened Byakuya's path, Touko would gently steer him away. Every few minutes, she glanced quickly to see Byakuya's ongoing reaction to her story. When, halfway through, Byakuya's mouth turned into a small smile, Touko's heart soared.

When he finished, Byakuya carefully handed the papers back to Touko. She eyed him, waiting for a verbalized response.

"That was very well-written," Byakuya said. "The plot was clearly constructed, carefully, too. Yutaka was also a very effective character."

Yutaka was the male protagonist of the story, which she had written shortly after starting to develop feelings for Byakuya. The fact that Byakuya liked the character did not surprise Touko very much.

Touko felt her cheeks heat up. "Thank you," she said.

"If it's all right, do you think I could read another?"

"Of course you could!" Touko swiftly and happily presented him with another, and he read it in the same fashion as he did the first. In this way, Byakuya worked his way through every single one of Touko's short stories that day.

When he had finished, Touko put her stories away. She realized she no longer had a reason to keep holding Byakuya's hand, yet she didn't really need a reason. As they continued walking, she didn't let go, and Byakuya's lack of an objection was enough for her. They walked in a peaceful silence for a few more minutes until it was time to set up camp for the night, at which time they both let go of each other and looked around embarrassedly, although Byakuya hid his embarrassment more well than Touko did.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Sorry that it's been so long since the last update! School is starting for me in about a week (at least it hasn't started yet, ha ha), so I've been busy doing all my summer homework. With school impending, updates will probably get more sparse. It was actually pretty hard to get myself motivated to write this, but as I eased into it, I think it ended up coming out relatively well.

I've gotten some questions about where they are going! Of course, I can't tell you that, but I put some hints in here. I don't think they are super obvious or super subtle. I'm just working up to it, because I think it will be revealed in the next chapter after this! Look forward to it~ -Kate

* * *

The next few days passed, and Byakuya and Touko spent them together in a peaceful manner. They had gotten to know each other relatively well by the time they passed through a village. It was the first mark of civilization the group had encountered for days after nearly a week of forest and emptiness.

"We're close," one servant said to another.

Gossip traveled fairly quickly, and theories of the trip's purpose, a closely guarded secret, were frequently discussed in the camp. Often alone or with Byakuya, Touko was out of the loop more often than not in regards to camp gossip. However, this fact was so commonly spread that even Touko was aware of it: they had nearly reached their destination.

That night, they stayed at the best inn in town. That is to say, the Togamis and their personal assistants stayed in the best inn while all the other workers stayed elsewhere. Touko stayed in one of the adjoining rooms to Byakuya's suite-style room. Her room was fairly simple and had everything necessarily for a one-night stay. Byakuya had some work he needed to do, so Touko was left to herself. She reflected on her present situation and on how different it was from what she expected mere weeks ago.

Her thoughts gradually turned to her mother, and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She frequently thought fondly of her and looked forward to when she could get a chance to visit her. However, Touko realized that due to the rushed nature of her departure from the Togami estate, she had never had time to send or receive any letters. She had been so caught up in her newfound adventure, so to speak, that she had forgotten to keep in touch with her mother who had made it all possible. Now that they were in a village, perhaps there would be a chance to send a letter back? If there was a way, Touko thought, she could simply ask and Byakuya would find a way to make it possible. She resolutely began to pen a letter.

In the letter, she apologized profusely and explained her current situation. She talked about her current position, deciding to leave out the secret detail of the resulting relationship, and described in vivid detail the scenery she had encountered. She began to explain that in order to write back, her mother should send the letter to…

At this point, Touko was stumped. She didn't know where they were going or how long they would stay there. She folded the letter carefully and decided to finish it later. She began drafting another story until she heard noises in the other room that indicated Byakuya had finally moved from his desk.

She cracked the door open and poked her head around it. "Byakuya…?" She spoke his name much more naturally than when he had first instructed her to use it. "Can I come in?"

Byakuya barely looked at her from where he sat on the couch. "Of course. I'm done working for the day."

Touko entered the more luxurious room and looked around before timidly sitting on the couch next to him. She looked to see if he would tell her to move, and when he didn't, she settled into a more comfortable position. She carefully kept a distinct distance between them.

"I presume the conditions of your room are adequate for the night?" he asked.

"Mmhmm." Touko bit her lip.

Byakuya glanced at her and noticed her sign of nervousness. "What's wrong?"

"I was just wondering if…if you could tell me where we're going? Er, where _you're_ going?" When Byakuya grimaced for a moment and turned away, Touko continued in a haste, "It's just that I—my mother—I'm writing a letter to my mother a-and I need to know how…I need to know what to tell her…how she can write to me…"

"Your mother?" Byakuya asked quietly.

"Y-Yes, she's the one who helped me get this job, and…but I haven't written to her or seen her or anything since I started here, and now that we've been traveling all this time there hasn't been a chance to send her anything—"

Touko paused and inhaled deeply before finishing, "…but now that we're in a village, I thought that I could write a letter tonight and mail it tomorrow morning?"

The room was silent for a long time before Byakuya said, "If you write the letter tonight and write whom it's for on the envelope, I'll have it delivered tomorrow." He stood and went to his desk, carefully going through his bag before extracting an envelope and handing it to her.

The envelope was dark green, and Touko could tell by holding it that it was made from high-grade paper, although previously she hadn't known that different grade papers existed. She turned it over in her hands.

"Eh?! Is it really okay for me to send my letter in this envelope?" She eyed the envelope's monogram dubiously.

"Naturally. It'll ensure that nothing happens to it before it reaches your mother."

"Thank you…I really miss her."

"I'll make sure you get a chance to visit her or for her to come visit you." Byakuya sat next to her again, and Touko felt incredibly aware of their proximity.

"I don't suppose you've ever had to be away from your parents for a long time…"

"No, I haven't."

"I'm jealous… You never have to worry about anything."

"That's completely false. I have things to trouble me as well."

"Like what?"

Byakuya adjusted his glasses and looked sideways, away from her. "I doubt you'd understand, Touko. Being in the position I am comes with a lot of pressures. I have a lot of things I'm obligated to accomplish and certain things I have to do, even if I don't want to…"

Touko noticed the way Byakuya uncharacteristically trailed off at the end of his sentence. "Well, I'm sure you can handle all of it," she reassured him. "And I don't know how much help I can be, but I can always support you. Because, the more I think about it, Byakuya, I lo—"

"Don't say that."

Byakuya tensed up even more than before. Touko could practically feel Byakuya distancing himself from her, even though they still sat with only inches separating them.

"Byakuya, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Then why did you—?"

"I said it's nothing." After a tense pause, he sighed and added, "I'm anxious. That's all."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Is there anything I can do to make you less anxious?"

"No." _Everything you do is making me anxious_, Byakuya thought.

Touko racked her mind for something she could do. She hated seeing Byakuya as obviously unhappy as he was. Even if she, overall, wasn't as talented as Byakuya was, there must be something she could do to make him feel better, she thought. Well, she did, she supposed, have one talent…

"I could, um, take your mind off of whatever's distracting you by telling you a story, if you'd like…" She played with her braids as she tried to think of a story. She couldn't tell one of the ones she had written since Byakuya had read all of them. Her drafted story was in a fairly nebulous state and was far from ready for telling…

"Fine. I'll listen."

After a few seconds, Touko began slowly. "Once upon a time, there was a handsome heir named Byakuya."

"Are you really going to name your protagonist after the intended audience of your story? How cliché."

"Do you want me to change it?"  
"…No, you don't have to."

"Okay. Byakuya was a very successful progeny who found achievement in everything he attempted. He lived in a huge mansion with lots of people to wait on him."

"If this is just a retelling of my life, I don't want to hear it."

"I-It's going to be different. Don't worry. Anyway…"

Touko stumbled with her plot at the beginning, but the story had formed by the time she began finishing half an hour later. Compared to before,

"…And as the sun set on the fires still burning on the horizon, Byakuya knew that life wouldn't get easier. There would always be another similar challenge waiting. However, Byakuya was confident that he could handle whatever confronted him, because he was confident in his talents and abilities. Also, he knew that Touko, who stood next to him, would always be ready to help him if he ever needed her. That's because Touko loved…she loves him. …Does he reciprocate the feelings, Byakuya? What do you think?"

Touko turned to look at Byakuya. In the moment before he turned away and raised a hand to his face, Touko saw a genuine smile and a shine in his eyes.

Byakuya turned back to face her and said with a smile and his characteristic certainty, "I don't think so. I'm positive of it."

Touko felt her heart swell up as she said, "Okay. …Because Touko loved him, and he loved her. The end."

"Thank you, Touko."

"Did that help? At least a little?"

"Yes. Although, the ending of your story is missing something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

The distance between Byakuya and Touko turned from inches to nothing as he leaned in and kissed her. It was a short kiss, so Touko, shocked, didn't even have time to close her eyes or remove her shocked expression by the time he moved back.

"The end," he said. "I think that's a better ending, don't you?"

Touko smiled and let out a short giggle. "It's a really good idea. But I think it needs some revision."

"Revision…?"

Emboldened by the direction of the conversation and by, likely, her tiredness, Touko leaned in to kiss Byakuya again. This time, the kiss was long enough that Byakuya, taken by surprise, had time to settle into it.

As they continued to kiss, the thought flickered across Touko's mind that Byakuya had completely avoided her question regarding their destination. However, Touko felt assured that as long as she could accompany Byakuya, she wouldn't mind where they went.


End file.
